Safer Community can help anyone who feels threatened or unsafe
As a Deakin student, you have access to a range of health and wellbeing services, even as most of your classes remain online. One of the most important of these is Safer Community – Deakin’s central point of contact for reports and disclosures of domestic and family violence, and sexual harm.
Safer Community also responds to reports of concerning behaviour. This includes anything that:
- makes you feel threatened or unsafe
- makes you worried that someone may harm themselves or someone else
- offends you
- just doesn’t feel quite right.
If you feel unsafe in your home, or COVID-19 restrictions mean that your personal situation could become dangerous or unsustainable, Safer Community is here to support you. This includes assisting you with a safety plan if appropriate or providing advice.
Our trained professionals are experienced in dealing with this kind of trauma – and it doesn’t matter if it’s recent or historical, or where it happened. So whether you can physically come to campus or there are restrictions in place, we still want everyone to feel safe while they’re at Deakin.
Visit the Safer Community website to find out more, including information on what will happen if you make a report, how we manage your privacy, and what ongoing referrals, support and monitoring are available.
How to contact Safer Community
Safer Community is not an emergency or crisis response service – we only operate during business hours. If you or someone else needs immediate help, please contact Victoria Police by calling Triple Zero (000).
For confidential assistance, contact Safer Community during business hours (Monday to Friday, 9am‑4pm) by:
- calling us on 03 9244 3734
- emailing us at [email protected]
- contacting us online to report or access support for:
Other information and help
- If you need to talk to someone, contact Deakin’s Counselling and Psychological Support (CAPS) service.
- Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria has information on how to stay safe from domestic and family violence during COVID-19.
- 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) provides information, counselling and support for people affected by domestic and family violence, and sexual harm.
- Daisy App and Sunny App can connect women and women with disability to local services.
- Men’s Referral Service (1300 766 491) provides family violence-related telephone counselling, information and referrals for men.
- Djirra (1800 105 303) provides support for Aboriginal people experiencing domestic and family violence.
- Thorn Harbour Health has a domestic and family violence service and details of other services specifically for the LGBTIQ+ community.